This post was most recently updated on August 1st, 2016
You can absolutely “Drive Traffic To Your Blog For Free” when you know what to do… and then do it.
As a blogger, you just never get over the issue of driving traffic to your blog, right?
Most bloggers don’t really like paying for Facebook ads to get more folks to their blogs, though.
Let’s face it, you’re giving away high quality, free content on your blog.
Should you have to pay so people can find it?
The answer, sadly, is yes for many people.
That’s because, try though they might, they just can’t seem to get their pages ranked in the first page or two of the Google search results.
If you’re in that group, believe me, you’re not alone.
Special: FREE Guide… 4 Things I Did To Build My Blog Using Only Free Traffic
You’ve probably spent lots of time reading about SEO strategies, right?
So, you search for the right keywords for your blog post title.
Then you make sure to use those keywords throughout your article, in your tags, even in your image “alt tags.”
That’s just for starters.
There’s much more to do to make your blog post stand out for the hungry little Google bots that tirelessly troll the blogosphere.
That’s just for “on page” SEO.
Then there’s things you need to do “off page” to get backlinks, yaddy yaddy.
If none of this works, then you’re probably off to the next thing.
That usually means developing your “social media” profiles to share your blog content.
Can You Drive Traffic To Your Blog For Free With Social Media?
Many experts tell you that the best way to get traffic is through social media sites.
Without beating around the bush, I’d say that social media really is one of the best ways to get traffic.
It’s not only one of the best “free” methods you can use, it’s also probably the best “paid” method.
I’m not going to get into paid ads in this article, except to say that the stronger you build up your social media presence, the more effective your paid ad campaigns will be if and when you decide to deploy them.
So, we get to the issue of how to build a strong social media presence as it relates to your blog.
Special: FREE Guide… 4 Things I Did To Build My Blog Using Only Free Traffic
Be Social
One of the biggest mistakes I see bloggers make on social media platforms is that they’re not social.
What’s your favorite social media platform?
- Facebook?
- Twitter?
- LinkedIn?
- Pinterest?
- Instagram?
- YouTube?
If you’re hanging out on any of these platforms, you know that they are PRIMARILY social.
That means, people are hanging out to meet each other, see what they think about things, share some cool quotes or funny videos or whatever.
Then you come along and say “hey, here’s my latest blog post on tracking your site through Google Analytics.”
What???
Nobody cares.
Be social, have fun and only share your blog updates to people you know are interested.
But mostly, spend quality time on social media sites just meeting people, hanging out and having a good time.
Special: FREE Guide… 4 Things I Did To Build My Blog Using Only Free Traffic
Share Valuable Information
OK.
Now you want to know how that translates into getting traffic to your blog.
It doesn’t unless you can find a targeted group of people to hang out with.
Maybe you’re in a Facebook group of people who use Google Analytics… then you could share that post, as long as it’s permissible.
Maybe you have blog about photography. Build a fan page that speaks mostly to photographers’ concerns and invite people to join you there.
Give them valuable information about photography.
This same strategy applies to all the different social media platforms.
Gather people around you who are interested in your niche topic, and share valuable information with them on a fairly steady basis.
Support Other Bloggers
You don’t just want to draw people to you, though.
Find other bloggers in your niche who are active on their social media sites.
Visit them, engage with them, let their followers know that they’ve got some good information to share.
They’ll do the same for you.
So will their followers.
This is how social media becomes “viral.”
Everybody sharing, talking, and some of this “traffic” will find it’s way to your blog.
Be Consistent
Now, here’s the part that you could find a bit challenging.
Nothing happens fast.
Nothing happens “overnight.”
Nothing.
Your social media campaigns can be a great way to drive traffic to your blog for free.
Special: FREE Guide… 4 Things I Did To Build My Blog Using Only Free Traffic
To be effective, though, you need to run these campaigns pretty much every day.
Consistency is the key to making social media work for you, in driving traffic to your blog.
If you’re not out there daily, socializing, sharing, commenting and adding value for your followers… then they’ll soon forget you.
And they’ll soon forget about your blog.
Be Efficient
To make your campaigns work, and to keep up with them consistently, you need to put systems in place.
That means that you must have a regular routine that you follow.
You might spend 30 minutes a day on your Facebook page.
Maybe you’ll upload 3 videos a week to YouTube.
Whatever your routine is, you need to do it daily and efficiently.
There are plenty of paid tools to help you share your posts and tweets, and interact with your friends, followers and associates.
There are also some good free ones.
One of the best free tools you can use to improve your efficiency is IFTTT.
You can visit their site to create and/or grab what they call “recipes” to automate portions of your social media strategy, and make it work right on schedule with high octane efficiency.
Here are a few sample recipes you will find there…
So that’s it.
Talking about effective social media, I’ve just added a basic training for anyone interested in getting started with using Instagram.
Instagram has become one of the most powerful social media platforms for engaging your audience, and involving them in your business.
One of the uniquely effective things about Instagram is that all your traffic is driven to one site only… the one you link to in your profile.
People tend to think that’s a detriment in that they can’t blast out all kinds of links to all sorts of things.
But it’s actually a very inviting thing for users (your followers!) because they’re not intimidated by being deluged with links all over the place.
If they like the value you share, they can easily click your profile link.
That makes your profile link an extremely valuable piece of real estate on your Instagram feed… because it’s the ONLY one.
If you’d like to see how you can get started on Instagram, and start putting together some highly effective and engaging campaigns that can drive lots of free traffic to your blog on a steady, ongoing basis, get my FREE “Instagram Basics” Training inside of my VIP CLUB…
Now, Id like to hear about the methods you use to drive traffic to your blog for free.
Please leave your your comments below, and share this article to your social networks if think it would be valuable to your peeps 🙂
-Donna
Hi Toni,
Love IFTT. Time saver is my middle name lol. Anything that an make our work on the internet easier, is welcome.
I must apologize for removing your CommentLuv so I will put your last amazing post here:
http://toninelsonmeansbusiness.com/27-tips-and-tricks-for-email-marketing/
Donna Merrill recently posted..10 Top Sources Of Blog Traffic That You Are Not Using
Twitter: toninelsonbiz
August 24, 2016 at 4:22 pm #
I absolutely love IFTTT. It is such time saver. I can post to Instagram and then have the same content shared on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Twitter: digitalseoguide
July 20, 2016 at 4:35 am #
Hi Donna,
Nice write-up. Be Social is one of the key factors of today’s business success. Social media is become very popular these days even big brands also targeting social media as a marketing strategy. What I have read here is worth to read and implement too.
Thanks for sharing…
Arpit
Twitter: FirstTechBlog
June 21, 2016 at 4:45 pm #
I’ve read all you wrote and I what I read. Facebook groups works better for me. But like you said, what you share to a group should be of interest to the people in the group. However, finding an active group to share your posts is very very difficult. Unless you build one yourself which can take you many months.
Twitter: wpblogging360
April 18, 2016 at 3:09 am #
Hey Donna,
Some great tips on one of the most searched topics over the web. It is no secret that everyone writes for the traffic. Unless you have a decent readers base, there is no difference between writing in your personal diary and writing in a blog
Though organic search is the most effective source of traffic but it is not easier for many to rank top 10 in the SERPs. The better alternative is definitely social media. But one must understand the different sharing habits of individual social sites to make the most out of each.
Thanks for sharing the tips on how to utilize the social media sites for getting more traffic and better engagement. Take care and have a great day ahead 🙂
Manidipa Bhaumik recently posted..10 Quick Tips to Boost your Page Loading Speed
Twitter: Sandysjar
March 29, 2016 at 1:13 pm #
Donna, This is great. A lot of online businesses forget to be social. Some are just interested in the traffic and they forget that people are people. We love to share with others and help them along their journey.
Thank you for such a great post.
Sandy
Sandy Mangis recently posted..Can You Really Succeed with This Video Challenge?
Twitter: CopyWarner
March 21, 2016 at 8:39 am #
Hey Donna,
Great post and great point.
These social sitesecurity are about one thing, being social.
I try my best to be social and engage on sites that I’m on, and on one site, inbound.org, I’m making it my mission to engage and add to the conversation because I want to build those relationships. I finally figured out that trying to get traffic the quick and fast way isn’t the way to go, you have to think long term. And that involves contributing as much as you can to sites you’re on.
Great post here.
– Andrew
Twitter: bloggingconsult
March 17, 2016 at 9:32 am #
Hi Donna,
This is an epic post; one worthy of mention. From personal experience, one of the best ways of getting free traffic is by engaging in blogging communities of like minds.
The second option is by turning your blog posts to viral and catchy content. This can be done using GIFs, memes and funny videos into your content and then sharing such post on social media sites like stumbleupon, reddit, Facebook and twitter.
Cheers,
Dare
Twitter: pvariel
March 16, 2016 at 4:07 pm #
Hi Donna,
Yet another in-depth study on social media and traffic,
Coming to your question: Can You Drive Traffic To Your Blog For Free With Social Media?
Yes, no doubt social media can bring in traffic to our sites, in fact every blogger in the initial stage of their blogging they only depend on these social media sharing,
No doubt we get traffic for free from these pages, but the problem is these are mostly not solid ones,
But a selective section of people and making a good relation will surly bring in results.
Yes, another thing i noticed in this aspect is that these days everyone is starting their own social community and try to pull people. this is indeed a real confusion, that which is good and which is bad, I am not understanding these concept of everyone starting a group or community, I am sure in such cases people may join in the initial stage and in the times goes by they become inactive and eventually the community die or become inactive, In my opinion joining in too many communities are no worth doing. Anyways there are some solid groups and communities in social media, Thanks for giving an in depth vision on this subject
I have never tried the paid ad any platform some pro bloggers are using this concept even after they are doing flourshing job with their platforms, they still go with these kinds fo ads
that shows there is some meaning in it of benefit in it! Yes, shelling out some bugs will bring in solid results people will try, i am sure not a newbie will try this!
Thanks Donna for this informative post.
Keep sharing
Have a woderful day
~ Philip
Philip Verghese Ariel recently posted..10 Tips for the Beginners in Affiliate Marketing
Hey Donna,
Social Media is one of the best ways anyone can generate traffic.
But you’re right, you have to stay consistent with social media as far as engaging. You want to leave an imprint of you on the minds of your audience, and you do this with engaging.
Paid strategies work quite well. I used Facebook ads in the past, and it did help me not only get a lot of traffic, but also leads everyday. I was getting between 2 to 3 leads a day from one campaign. Not too shabby.
One thing that has kept me inconsistent is that I’ll focus on my social site for a week or two, then bounce around to a couple of others for the same length of time. I do this between Twitter, Facebook, and Google+, but one thing that’s beneficial is that I still engage with the same people on each site.
Thanks for sharing Donna and you have a great week ahead!
Sherman Smith recently posted..Importance Of Branding Yourself Online When Youâre Broke With Little Time
Hi Sherman,
Good to know your Facebook brought you traffic and some leads! I love to use Facebook myself once in a while with a paid version.
Oh the inconsistency of social sites! A good idea is to break down your time between them all. Even if you take one day on FB, the next on Twitter, and so on. Just to keep up the juice.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Dress Your Blog For Success
Twitter: ryanbiddulph
March 14, 2016 at 10:36 am #
Well said Donna. You have all the bases covered. I remind myself: create, connect, create, connect, and have fun with it….all day long. As long as I’m online, I am creating and connecting, and I use mostly free marketing methods to drive blog traffic. It’s funny; when you do stuff without paying a premium on the blogging side of things you will become an expert through the power of repetition. Depending on the form of paid marketing, not so much.
I know all I know today because I enjoyed the process of creating and connecting. Both acts are embodied in your dead on tips above.
Thanks for sharing!
Ryan Biddulph recently posted..4 Travel Blogger Boo Boo’s which May Bite You in the Fanny Later
Hi Ryan,
Creating and connecting are my favs too. There is good traffic and bad. I find that when we connect with others that are good, our traffic is great.
I cannot tell you how many people try to comment on this blog of mine and never come through. I always check them out. If it is a one liner…they are gone (unless they are new and need to learn)
I check out who they are and find they only have a “buy me” kind of blog and won’t accept them either.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Dress Your Blog For Success
Twitter: learn_to_blog
March 14, 2016 at 8:47 am #
Hi Donna, I have always loved engaging with other bloggers through their blogs, through links and through shared interests so yes, you can drive traffic to your blog very effectively for free. I wonder though if some of the traffic from paid advertising are ore inclined to be buyers?
Enjoy the journey!
Hi Mandy,
Getting traffic from our blogs are great. However, there are many other ways to get traffic when we are marketing something.
I wouldn’t pay for traffic to my blog, but would pay a good marketer to market my products on his or her list. I do that here and there to keep buyers coming.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Dress Your Blog For Success
Twitter: RaviRKJaiswal
March 14, 2016 at 8:20 am #
Hello Donna ma,am,
Nice to meet you here.. 🙂
I agree with your all point of views about social media. I am very happy to see here that you have shared a beautiful topic i.e. we should share article on Facebook and tweets on twitter.
This is very important to share and implement our idea in front of all the people, you know.
It is an important fact to get the traffic in our blog which provides an opportunity to move forward. Therefore, sharing the all blogs article in social media plays vital role.
Thanks a lot for amazing suggestive article.. 🙂
Have a great week ahead..
– Ravi.
Ravi Roshan Kumar recently posted..Top 10 free Magazine Style WordPress Themes
Hi Ravi,
Sharing your blog content on social media sites is a great way to drive free traffic to your blog, for sure.
You just want to be sure you always do it in a valuable and meaningful way.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Dress Your Blog For Success
Twitter: KathieMac
March 13, 2016 at 6:51 pm #
Hi Donna,
Great article, as usual. I really liked the points you made on being efficient with your campaigns. Consistent systems with regular routines are a good idea.
Using paid tools to share posts and tweets to interact with followers, and friends are helpful. IFTTT is a good free tool for that.
Basic training on Instagram sounds interesting. How does one sign up for that?
Ah yes I see the link.
Thanks Donna.
Hi Kathryn,
Tools are great because they help us be efficient. IFTTT is a great one.
But they don’t replace the hard work we have to put in consistently. And we always need to do it with an attitude of giving and sharing. It’s that whole “go-giver” mentality that makes all the mechanical things we do to drive traffic to our blog really take on life. It’s what people remember us for the most.
Hey, I look forward to seeing you inside my free VIP CLUB 🙂
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Dress Your Blog For Success
Twitter: TalwarSonal
March 13, 2016 at 5:37 am #
Hi Donna
You are absolutely right about joining communities. It definitely helps.
Social media is a great way to drive tons of free traffic.
Thanks for sharing!
Sonal Talwar recently posted..How to Create Compelling Ecommerce Content
Hi Sonal,
I love being in communities. It takes time, but once we choose a few, it can go a long way to help with traffic.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Hey Donna,
i guess one of the apps that i use the most is IFTTT, its one of the best ways you can be productive as well as post on social media and automate your works, kudos to developers, though i like to share that google plus has been one of the great ways to drive traffic to your blogs, and also the communities make it easy to post what they want so this is a way to get targetted traffic!
thanks for the informative post
regards
supreeth recently posted..Top 10 Best Tech To Gift Under 100$/Rs.6000 in 2016
Twitter: yonderwillow
March 12, 2016 at 5:45 pm #
Hi Donna. I think it’s definitely possible to drive traffic to your blog for free. You didn’t pay for my visit (it was probably a referral from Adrienne Smith originally). I use blog commenting, Facebook and Twitter to spread word about my blog posts and well as on-page SEO to get traffic from Google. I think the most important thing you said is that it takes time. I’ve only been commenting consistently on other people’s posts for a few months, so people don’t really recognize my name yet. I like blog commenting because I get to visit many different people, learn tons about whatever the topic is, and hopefully over time build relationships with some good people. Then the traffic thing pretty much takes care of itself. The relationships and learning come first.
Ben recently posted..Being Content versus Being Happy
Hi Ben,
Yes, it does take time and people need to realize that otherwise, they get frustrated. It takes time for friendships in real life, so it works the same way when it comes to our blogs.
You are going out and giving great comments to others and any good blogger will go to your blog respectively. – I did –
Yes traffic will take care of itself because you doing it the correct way.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: saraharrow
March 12, 2016 at 12:27 pm #
Love this Donna, such sage advice as always. One of the most common things I hear from other bloggers is “no one comments on my blog”. Which always, inevitably leads to “how many blogs have you commented on”. I’m never surprised when the answer is none. They need to get out and hustle! And the same goes with social media.
Anyway, I’ve said enough, am going to check out your Instagram training. I feel I’m missing a trick on that platform 🙂
Sarah Arrow recently posted..60 Ways to Boost Your Website’s Traffic in 60 Minutes a Day
Hi Sarah,
I hear that too all to many times. I’m not surprised at that answer either. All they have to do is to read other blogs, comment and share and it is the easiest and most effective way to drive traffic to their blogs. Yes they DO need to get out there and hustle.
I’m working on Instagram these days because of the lack of reach in Facebook. Lately I’m focusing on a new page that I’m using for marketing e-com. Spending the weekend designing….ah that creative side of me is happy.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: usmile
March 12, 2016 at 12:08 pm #
Hey Donna,
Well, it’s not a mystery. Reach out and things happen. It’s the consistent “doing” that challenges people .. focusing on getting it done will reap so many rewards and traffic will start to build … love ya 🙂
Hi Lesly,
Not a mystery to you my friend! You are so successful when it comes to this. From your blog, to the Power Affiliate Club you have created, and of course your social media presence.
You are one busy bee! Indeed, we all need to be doing…and doing consistently.
Love ya too kiddo,
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: PJZafra
March 11, 2016 at 11:00 pm #
What an awesome post Donna! I agree with you on social media. We share content there, but we must never forget to interact and engage with other people. Once we build relationships with other people, there’s a far bigger chance people will pay attention to what we post and check them out.
Being consistent and efficient surely are important keys as well. A blogger that blogs daily will always outdo a blogger that posts once a week.
Overall, what helped a lot for me in driving traffic to my blog is simply building relationships with people pretty much everywhere. On Facebook, on other blogs, on forums…anywhere. lol Once you build relationships with other people, everything gets a whole lot easier.
It can be a tough and time consuming process but it sure is rewarding if you do it the right way.
Awesome post Donna. Thank you for sharing!
PJ Zafra recently posted..William Kamkwamba’s Life Story: From Extreme Poverty to Changing Lives
Hi PJ,
Building relationships is key. From our blogs to social media we need to be out there with an open ear and a go giving attitude. We cannot just toss our products into the air…it always falls down lol.
I do see you around all the time and you are always pleasant on social media. You are positive, and not only press that like button, but also comment. This is something we all must do.
Yes, it does take time and patience, but it is so worth it.
Thanks so much for stopping by,
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Hi Kim,
Indeed, Social Media is a balancing act. Sharing people’s blogs and liking and commenting some stuff on our feed is one thing. We can be friendly that way. I only take 10 minutes twice a day to go down my feed and see what’s going on. But always commenting with a like or a love that they have now in the emojis.
It is important for us to let others know what business we are in and we can do that in a fun way. After posting a quote and whatever one deems to be social, we can post something like “Having a fantastic day…my list just grew” or “I’m having fun promoting x” Just sharing something as subtle as that can spark attention.
When we do serious marketing on social media, it is sometimes tricky. I like to start with “friends” then “friends of friends” in a target audience.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: kim_willis
March 11, 2016 at 1:28 am #
Hi Donna,
Great post! In fact, I think you totally nailed it when talking about the basics of generating social media traffic.
Driving traffic with social media is simple but tricky.
If we are too promotional people will run a mile. But if we don’t promote, well no business will be done.
I sometimes find it hard to get the balance right between playing the social ‘friend shipping’ game and taking care of business.
I like your point about supporting other bloggers. As you rightly say they will ultimately influence their blogger contacts to join in the fun.
For sure it takes time for relationships to develop. We’re like a farmer – we till the soil, we plant the seeds, we cultivate – and then we harvest.
Bloggers need to play the long game – it’s the best way to build our business
Readers should grab your Instagram Basics training for sure
Thanks Donna
Kim
Kim Willis recently posted..What My Friends Taught Me About Blog Commenting
Twitter: stellachiu97
March 10, 2016 at 10:59 pm #
Hi, Donna
You are right, we can have free blog traffic through social media by building relationship. I like the word that you use ” just hang out” just presence and engage.
Sharing valuable information and supporting other bloggers are my two favorable activities. I believe the more you give, the more you receive.
Interaction is the key as we all know. But I would like to add “sincere” into the formula. Without sincere interaction, desired result will be far away from us.
For example, I had a conversation with a famous young blogger through FB PM in the morning. He gave me his response ” It was very powerful to boost my faith” the same minute I told him to be encourage by reading particular post. From the content of his response, I knew he did not read it. There is no way I will allow him to connect with me again..
– Stella Chiu
Stella Chiu recently posted..3 Risky Medical Practices in Western Medicine
Hi Stella,
Great example, thank you. We have to be sincere. We can all tell right off if someone is faking it. I can spot it all the time.
Gosh that young blogger you had a conversation with really showed his colors! We can always tell if someone doesn’t read a post and this is how we can weed out these people. I don’t blame you for not connecting with him again.
It is always better to give than to receive but there is a boundary we must have. Boundaries are important, especially on social media. People can take up all your time.
The worst is those pesky PM’s whereby a man will say hi. I ignore them after a terrible experience. I thought I was talking to a fellow blogger and said hi back….the conversation was OK for a bit but then he said vile things to me. Not only did I block him, but reported him also.
Ahhh Lessons we learn!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: coachtocoachguy
March 10, 2016 at 5:37 pm #
Mighty good stuff as usual Donna!
And I really like your image for this particular post!
And your timely advice, about “how to” be effective through
the use of social media!
Like you said, don’t forget, first and foremost, you need to be
social!LOL!
I don’t know why, but some online marketers, seem to think spam is
preferable to being social!LOL!
All I know is, before I starting consistently implementing what
I’ve learned over the years, from primarily, you & David & Adrienne Smith!
My blog traffic went from dismal at best, to pretty darn good!
Because, I now have months, were my unique visitor count, is
in excess of 7,200 unique visitors in a month, to over 16,000
total visitors, for the same 30 day period!
And none of that would be consistently happening, had I not
began follow the proven expert advice of you, David & Adrienne!
Thanks Coach, because before I discovered you, I was pretty
much twirling in the Internet wind! And getting nowhere fast!LOL!
Mark recently posted..Why Today’s Savviest Entrepreneurs Prefer The Very Best Lead Magnets To The Best Advertising Rates!
Hi Mark,
Thanks so much for your lovely compliment. Yes, social media is just that…Social! There are still marketers and bloggers just dumping and run.
An example of a marketing blunder on social media is if someone uses Facebook to advertise, make your target market your “Friends” and not total strangers. Eventually you will be seen and already have the KLT factor because those people are ones you have engaged with already. Either they know you well, or know of you.
The worst thing to do is to target strangers.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: joantruesuccess
March 10, 2016 at 11:52 am #
Hi Donna 🙂
Excellent tips for getting free traffic to your blog! Social Media is all about being “social” 🙂 So many think that you have to spam links everywhere when in reality all you need to do is to share value consistently and daily and the traffic WILL come 🙂
I love IFTTT! Such an amazing tool 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing YOUR valuable tips!
Joan M Harrington recently posted..Really Powerful Content Creation The Writing Process
Hi Joan,
Indeed, social media is about being social and that’s how we can make connections with people we resonate with. We do have to be consistent and share value.
The worst is spamming. I’ve successfully blocked and cleaned up those spammers on my social sites. Oh yes..a few try to trickle in, but I have it under control. Now it is so much easier to socialize with people I like…no spamming! 🙂
Glad you are liking IFTT!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: cheryschmidt
March 10, 2016 at 11:11 am #
Hello Donna, Great job as always my friend!
HUM?? You didn’t mention joining a blogging community to get traffic to your blog!
Then you also have those share buttons Right? So when these people stop by, they click on the share button and Boom! Now their friends know about your post as well.
Perhaps not all of them will be your targeted audience, but it is another example of free traffic to your blog. Correct?
Thanks for sharing
Chery :))
Chery Schmidt recently posted..Phone Prospecting To Help Build A Successful Online Business
Hey Chery,
Thanks!!! Yep Blogging Communities are a must and thanks for mentioning that to add value here. Also those share buttons work miracles.
Indeed, they all may not be part of my target audience, but who cares? Once traffic comes in, even if they are not “targeted” it doesn’t matter much because eventually that word of mouth starts to roll and then one of their friends may be interested.
Yes Correct!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: mrsdeegee
March 10, 2016 at 10:22 am #
Hi Donna,
I use many of the available social networks, but there are a few I have yet to become familiar with.
Instagram is one of them.
I have a profile set up, but I don’t know how to use it…lol
However, I did grab your free training and I went ahead and grabbed the Instagram program as well.
I know others love to use it and have had a lot of success with it, so for me, it’ll just be a matter of learning how to navigate it and putting it to use.
Since I’ve had this new blog up, I can’t believe how many tools I’ve implemented. It actually feels like an accomplishment to have taught myself these things and reach out for help when I’ve needed to. I can’t explain how it feels to take charge this way.
I’d rather everything I do be from an organic place. I know the SEO stuff is important, but to be honest, I don’t enjoy having to base titles on keywords, though I’ll do it where it seems to fit the topic.
But I’m aware that others need to find you as well if they don’t know who you are.
So for me, it’ll be about finding that perfect balance between building authentic relationships and attracting new visitors in a way that keeps them excited about returning.
Thanks for the tools Donna 🙂
Dana recently posted..3 Pleasurable Ways to Take Charge of Your Well-Being
Hi Dana,
I’m with you. I love organic traffic and really never got into the SEO stuff. I rather deal with humans than bots lol.
I too have an instagram account, but didn’t know how to use it. Now that I’m building relationships with an e-com account it is a whole new world. I didn’t use instagram that much, but was on Facebook and G+
Marketing is another story. Right now, while Facebook is loosing its steam for many people, they are flocking over to Instagram. So why the heck not try it? I’m not using it as a personal platform, but rather a business one.
But always with people and authenticity.
See you on the other side,
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: Virtual_Bren
March 9, 2016 at 3:18 pm #
Hey Donna,
You’re finally preaching something I Love! I’m all over Social Media, specifically Facebook and Twitter. I share my content as well as others, all over the place too (as long as it’s good stuff). I don’t know how anyone could generate traffic without having a presence on social media? I was just telling a few bloggers the other day, you much get on social media, promote, and network.
Thanks for sharing this!
Bren
Brenda Pace recently posted..Learn Which Social Media Networks Work Best for Your Business
Hi Bren,
I always see you on Facebook and that’s wonderful. You become a “friend” a real friend by being social there. I can see how you really do care about what other people think and post on that platform. You post…you respond to people. You are working it so well.
Then people get to know you and take the next step to come over to your blog. Your networking is done precisely how we all need to do it. Your effective strategy works because I can see it comes from your heart! So, whenever you have something to promote, it gets attention.
Bravo!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: corirams
March 9, 2016 at 2:33 pm #
Hi Donna,
This is awesome. You’ve definitely given us some valuable information here. Although I do these things, the one thing I need to improve on is consistency. It’s not like I’m out and about shopping (I wish, hehe) but I have other things going on at home that sometimes take up a lot of my time…still I power through and do my best to be as consistent as possible and work on improving myself. 🙂
Thanks for sharing this Donna. I hope you’re having a great week.
Cori
Corina Ramos recently posted..Spring Cleaning Tips For Your Blog
Hi Cori,
Consistency is a tough one, especially if you have things going on at home. I too wish I can be shopping he he but hey, we do have to keep plugging at being consistent. I have to say the first thing to do is see ourselves as humans and not robots. This helps relieve the guilt lol.
Write down the most important thing you need to do and always keep room for flexibility. It’s all about creating habits.
Sometimes we need to juggle our lives…its only natural, but I do find lists work. Take what is most important to do and set a time where you will do it no matter what! Turn off the phone, tell people it’s your time…even if it is an hour.
After a while you own that hour and consistency will fall into place.
I know…I have my kids calling and getting annoyed at me all the time because I don’t answer the phone. “its so hard to get you…what are you doing???” That’s what they say. Because we work from home, people won’t understand our priorities. But keep it up!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: enstinemuki
March 9, 2016 at 2:04 pm #
Hey Donna,
I read your blog post earlier but didn’t just get the time to drop a comment. I’m finally here and it’s better late than never right?
Now,I see so many people resonate with what you share here.
Unfortunately, the hardest part of SEO is off page and that’s where most of us don’t have control. There are principally three things we do:
1 – Guest post on other blogs and grab a link
2 – Comment on other blogs and link back
3 – Try to publish exceptional content hopping someone is going to link to it.
Some are active in forums and others create accounts on web 2.0 platforms and link back from their profiles.
All these are different ways to do Off page SEO. But it’s still getting difficult.
Yes, they turn to Social media and completely forget it’s all about being social.
All they do is paste their links, from one Facebook group to another Google plus community.
They never engage with others. That’s the reason they are failing. Social media is social first as you put it. when you are social on social media, you get traffic. When you are traffic hungry on social media, you get neglected.
People don’t even track their activities on social media. The never know which groups get them results. They just go on wasting time, pasting here and there.
BTW, thanks for the mini helpful training 😉
I hope you are having a wonderful week
Enstine Muki recently posted..How to get dofollow backlinks from 15 Commentluv Blogs [PART 2]
Hi Enstine,
When it comes to social media…yes it is just that .. Social. But once we connect with different groups that are responsive and full of energy, people start working together. Those that just drop and go are terrible. They ruin their reputation, plus will never get anywhere on on social media.
Of course…commenting on other blogs is my favorite of all. It’s the best way to get serious followers on our blogs. It takes our time, but it is worth it. So many people will notice a comment, such as yours and then get curious…they will like what you say in your comment then go to your blog.
I’ve seen this time and time again and it is my favorite way!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: joyhealey
March 9, 2016 at 11:22 am #
Hi Donna,
Had to laugh about how you described Facebook friends sharing quotes, videos about cats, dogs and fun stuff then up pops a blog post about Google Analytics! That’s why I keep my personal profile and my business page completely separate (after one or two of my family started adding comments like “Now what are you up to? That’ll never work.”)
You can choose your friends, but…. LOL (Love ’em to pieces, though.)
My main free traffic strategy is blog commenting, because I enjoy it the most. I do a little on Facebook most days, but I have a bad habit of getting carried away with dog pages. Fun, but not productive. I use Buffer as a paid tool to share content relevant to my business pages.
I’m active on Twitter too, but must admit – running my blog as a part-time business – I haven’t got into most of the others.
I’ve given up on SEO, beyond making the Yoast traffic light go green, it’s much more liberating not to worry about that any more.
However, I did look at my most viewed post through a free click tracker I use and that showed me an old post getting way more traffic than the others, so I edited the content to smarten it up a bit.
Having just survived a nightmare month with technical issues on my blog so I’m taking a deep breath and just enjoying writing and commenting before I even think about paid strategies.
Thanks for a great read,
Joy – Blogging After Dark
Joy Healey recently posted..Managed WordPress Hosting To Fix WP Security Problems
Hi Joy,
When it comes to family it was so crazy for me that I had to block them. Too many nieces and nephews using fowl language on my FB. But we message each other. They were miffed but what the heck.
Doing this business part time is difficult and you cannot be everywhere all the time. Pick one platform and use it is my advice. Commenting IS the backbone of our blogs – I know I say that all the time but it is so true. As long as you are focusing on that, you will do fine.
Last month was a nightmare for you with those technical issues and I am so happy you found your way out of that mess. Indeed, your choices are wise ones.
See you around,
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: ikechiawazie
March 9, 2016 at 12:57 am #
Hi Donna
I try my best to be consistent on Social media. As you highlighted, Social media is about building relationships and having fun doing it.
I have come to enjoy twitter and G+. Even though I am on Facebook, I am still not used to it.
It is great that you share free tips on Instagram as it is one fun platform.
Thanks for sharing your insight. Have a swell week
Hi Ikechi,
It is fun to build relationships once we get the swing of it. Twitter and G+ are great for that. When it comes to Facebook, it is a different experience. People do get more conversational if we use it correctly.
As long as we stay away from controversy, that platform can be a pleasure to be on.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: leadingedgeadv
March 8, 2016 at 6:03 pm #
Hi Donna,
I’m the worst when it comes to social media. Its like I either spend too much time on it or not enough (and when I spend too much time its usually personal). I find it hard to be consistent. I came up with a little schedule for myself but when something threw me off I abandoned it completely. Which reminds me, I need to get back to it 🙂 Thanks!
~Lea
Lea Bullen recently posted..9 Things You Can Do Anytime to Relieve Stress Quickly
Hi Lea,
That old catch 22! Many of us go on a tangent with social media at times. But it can be our nemesis when it comes to running a business.
I can fall into that personal use of it too at times with family issues, then come to find out my day is all eaten up. Ergo…I eliminated my family and blocked them all he he he.. I will private message them if I want, but communicating on Facebook can be Drama City!
Even if it is not personal, social media has a way to intrigue us and thereby we do loose precious time.
Good luck to you!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: atishranjan
March 8, 2016 at 3:13 pm #
Hi Donna,
Nice post on driving free traffic. SEO and Social media are major sources of traffic nowadays. Simply, if you are not able to get your posts ranked on top in Google, try social media to drag traffic meanwhile keep working on the SEO stuff.
Social Media works the best when you share right information to right audience. This is what you should take care of. Target the right audience and you will be able to grab tons of free traffic on comparatively lesser efforts.
Enjoy the week.
Atish Ranjan recently posted..Best Internet Browsers for Mac 2016
Hi Atish,
You are on target because Social Media does work best when you share the right information to the right audience. This is where we do need to put our energy on.
The days of doing only SEO are long gone. Not to say that a bit of that does help, but it is more intimate when we are sharing our information with our target audience.
Thanks for the visit and enjoy your week too.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Hi Mi,
I am so glad that we are in an era of organic presence because since I started blogging and using social media I’ve always done it that way. I never liked automated things. Just not my style.
I like the way you described how the online world is now like the offline. We are all connected and need to not only be social, but keep it ethical. Since I’ve connected with you Mi, you have ALWAYS had the presence of being a smart ethical businessman. That’s what I admire most. So traffic to your blog is no issue 🙂
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: BAMoneyBlogger
March 8, 2016 at 1:40 pm #
Hi Donna
Very effectively written post to clear the things related to blog traffic where mostly reliance is done on automated or semi-automated kind of things.
The days of stereotyped activities in the field of blogging are over. This is an era of organic presence everywhere be it blog community, social media or forums. Simply sharing things with any sharing tool will not serve the purpose of building relations with other.
Online world is now becoming just like offline world. Just imagine what an audience would take an impression if a businessperson instead of attending the meeting simply send his representative to fill the seat of do the formalities.
Many thanks for sharing such a beneficial post for those especially who still take increasing blog traffic requires any secret recipe.
Have a great rest of the week.
Mi Muba recently posted..14 wisest ways to work smart and be a super successful blogger
Twitter: CopyByTom
March 8, 2016 at 11:54 am #
Hi Donna,
Social media is a great tool for keeping in touch with your current audience, as well as reaching out to new people.
It’s best to know who your audience is, what they want and why they would want it from you before starting your social media off. Your answers to these questions can really pay off for you in a more effective social media strategy.
Supporting other bloggers is so important, especially for growing friendships with them. Sharing their content is one big way you can help them out – and introduce them to your audience.
Share and share alike is a good motto to have.
One thing to ask yourself before going after free traffic is: What end result are they looking for and do I give it to them? Knowing who your audience is helps you answer this in a way that lets you keep them when they come.
You’re so right, Donna, Efficiency and Consistency – they’re the biggies! Along with knowing what your purpose is.
– Tom
Tom Southern recently posted..How To Get Traffic When Everything You’ve Tried So Far Has Failed (and You Feel Like Giving Up)
Hi Tom,
I’m a great fan of social media. Sharing blogs is what I do all the time. So much so that before I even answer a comment, I share that person’s blog post first. This way I won’t skip a beat.
Yes Share and share alike is a great motto. I know my target audience and I do like to share other people’s blogs with them. Anyway I can help is great. They may even opt into another blogger’s opportunity and that’s fine with me. The end result is helping that person. It worked for many years offline for my business and is working online as well.
As for free traffic… there always needs to be a strategy in mind.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: AdrienneSmith40
March 8, 2016 at 10:39 am #
Hey Donna,
As you and I have found through the years we’ve been doing this that I think a lot of people start out pretty much doing the same things.
I’m surprised, shocked and horribly upset that anyone would teach or there would be information available out there telling people to still do the old methods that worked maybe eight years ago. There weren’t as many people online, social media wasn’t that huge, there weren’t a lot of the platforms there are today, it was just a different time.
Getting traffic to our blogs is important of course because without it we’ll never have the opportunity to get them to do what it is that we’d love for them to do. But it’s a process and it starts by being active and connecting with others on social media. You’re right, it’s called “SOCIAL” for a reason and that’s the biggest mistake people make. They’re impatient but just think how much more time they’ll spend having to backtrack all the damage they’ve done because they’re doing nothing but promoting to each other.
Thanks for sharing this post and giving everyone the heads up about what they should be doing. That’s the way to get great results as well as meet some pretty terrific people along the way right!
Hope your week has started off well and you enjoy this one my friend.
~Adrienne
Adrienne recently posted..Do You Want To Know Why You Are NOT Making Money From Your Blog?
Hi Adrienne,
I too get upset when I see someone teaching black hat marketing techniques. My goodness what hole did they crawl up from? Eight years ago is a long time in internet terms. Like a lifetime because it moves so fast. And yes, there are so many more platforms to use than there was years ago.
So true…it is a process getting people to our blogs and it sure does start with being social. It takes patience and determination. The more we give, the more we receive…only if we do so honestly as you well know.
This subject may be old news to you and I, but I just had to raise this issue because our blogs are a key factor when it comes to marketing. It is an open door for many to go through and see what we are all about.
Have a great week!
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: donpurdum
March 8, 2016 at 9:32 am #
Hi Donna,
Of late, I’ve been so blessed with so much business that I haven’t been as socially active as I have been in the past.
Your post is a great reminder to kick it in a notch and get back to it.There isn’t a good excuse other than laziness if I’m honest.
I love supporting great blogs! They are out there and they are hard to find.
I know that with some of the businesses I network with offline, they read my stuff all of the time and talk about me to others and drive traffic that way to me as well.
I’ve earned a number of referrals offline this way.
So, sometimes we have to remember there are a lot of different ways to earn free traffic and it’s up to us as business owners and marketers to figure out how our different marketplaces do things and adapt to them.
Oh, and I love your idea about routines!
In addition to my blog once a week, I create three videos per week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday); and on Facebook they are driving massive results.
Thanks Donna for a brilliant post! I love your message, what you do, and I’m one of your biggest fans!!!!
Have a great week.
~ Don Purdum
Don Purdum recently posted..How to Immediately Stop Losing Money on Marketing
Hi Don,
I know what you mean about being blessed with so much business. It is a juggle to be there for our clients and then be consistent online with blogging and social media. You do a great job with that because I see your videos consistently on Facebook. Good work! I was getting to that point myself but this has been one crazy few months for me.
But even though life has kind of knocked me down with one thing or another over the past few months, I did manage to hold on to my blog. Thank goodness for that…it was my “center” during this time.
I wasn’t socializing much for a month or so and it surprised me how many people reached out and asked me why.
Only goes to show how consistency matters so much!
Wishing you a wonderful week ahead…
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: harleenas
March 8, 2016 at 9:07 am #
Hi Donna,
Let me start by wishing you a very Happy Women’s Day – cheers for being one of the most inspirational woman I’ve met! 🙂
Coming to the post, you are right about all that you mentioned, and these are wonderful ways to drive blog traffic, though what works for one may or may not work for the other. But yes, if you remain consistent, things start taking shape, especially on the social networks.
Sharing valuable information and supporting other bloggers are my favorites too, and I know for sure they do work. Being social is all about being there for each other, isn’t it? The more you give, the more you receive. Interaction is the key, whether it’s on your blog or social media.
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
Harleena Singh recently posted..5 Things You’re Doing Wrong To Achieve Your Goals
Hi Harleena,
Happy Woman’s day to you too! Aww thank you and I find you inspirational also with your AHA Now Blog. There is always great information there. You too have been so consistent and also supportive of so many people.
Yes…supporting bloggers and being social for each other does work. The more you give…the more you receive only if it comes from a pure heart. And that’s what you do so well my friend.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: marquitaherald
March 8, 2016 at 8:50 am #
Great advice as always Donna. As far as I’m concerned you are the Queen of Facebook you are always there sharing great content and supporting other bloggers. Personally, my favorite thing about Facebook is groups and I’ve been spending a lot of time there lately and made so many terrific contacts and new friends. Thanks especially for the reminder of the importance of consistency!
Hi Marquita,
He He…the Queen of Facebook? Well that’s good to know because I don’t really know lately how I can reach people on that platform as they are always changing. But yes, I love supporting bloggers.
Facebook Groups are great because they are more intimate and we can always communicate with others that have similar interests.
Of course consistency is key in whatever we do. Thanks for visiting and enjoy your week.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas
Twitter: jacoblucky3
March 8, 2016 at 12:54 am #
Hi Donna,
You are right that we have to share with the people who are interested in the topics on social media. Joining different groups or social communities for the same will surely help.
And the points you have shared are good to implement.
Thanks for the share.
Robin Khokhar recently posted..10 Online Grammar Checker Tools To Avoid Grammatical Errors
Hi Robin,
It is great to join the groups on social communities that are interested in similar topics. It can take some time, but with consistency, one can surely make great connections.
Good to know that you have enjoyed this share.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How I Come Up With Blog Ideas